Dictionary of the Holy Bible...

Preface

One of the most cheering tokens of the progress of the gospel in our country and the world is the growing interest in the study of God's Word, which, as experience continually demonstrates more clearly, is the fountain of all the truth and the channel of the only spiritual power that can regenerate man and reform the world. To promote and aid in its study the Tract Society has published many most valuable Bible Helps : among them Dr. Barrows' "Companion to the Bible," and his "Sacred Geography and Antiquities;" "The Bible Text-Book," the "Bible Atlas," two Concordances, Locke's " Commonplace-book of the Bible," the " Family Bible with Notes," Hanna's "Life of Christ," and " The Dictionary of the Holy Bible." Of this latter volume over two hundred thousand copies have been circulated, and it has been the basis of translations into several foreign languages. But since its first publication great progress has been made in Biblical researches : the lands of the Bible have been more thoroughly explored — by the " Palestine Exploration" Companies, the "British Ordnance Survey," and recent travellers; the admirable Bible Dictionary of Dr. William Smith, with those of Fairbairn, Fausset, and others, have made a new era in Bible study ; and the Revised Version of Scripture has appeared.

All these recent works have been used in preparing this revised Bible Dictionary, with the purpose to present clearly and briefly the best attainable results of Biblical research, new and old — gathering from many large and costly works all the important information which the pastor, the Sunday-school teacher, or any earnest student of the Bible would require.

A great proportion of the articles have been rewritten, many new illustrations have been added, and improved maps ; and in this revised and enlarged form the Dictionary is almost a new work. It is sent forth with the earnest recommendation that the student will use it only as an aid in the study of the Bible itself, turning to all the passages referred to, and inspecting them, with the purpose above all so to search the Scriptures as to find Him of whom chiefly they testify, and who alone is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

W. W. RAND.

EXPLANATORY.

In this work the received chronology, in general that of Ussher, is adopted. While no little uncertainty exists as to some ancient epochs, the scientific speculations which would add many thousands of years to the early ages of mankind upon the earth are not confirmed by later researches.

The meaning of Biblical names of persons and places is given in italics where it can be determined; but in many cases it is conjectured from a somewhat uncertain derivation.

In proper names of Greek origin g before e or i is pronounced soft, as in Genesis. But in almost all Scripture names it should be pronounced hard, as in Gethsemane, Gihon.

Ch, in both Hebrew and Greek words, is pronounced like k, as in Chloe, Chios, Charran. The exceptions are Rachel, cherub, and cherubim.

In referring to a passage of Scripture, the book is first named by the customary abridged form, then the chapter followed by a colon : the verses are separated from one another by commas, and from a following reference by a semicolon. When a dash is used, all the verses between the one preceding and that following the dash are referred to.

A. V. stands for the Authorized, or King James, Version of the Bible. R. V. for the Revised Version.

ARABIC WORDS OF FREQUENT OCCURRENCE.

Abu, father. Khan, inn.

Km, fountain. Kh. for Khurbet, ruins.

Bab, gate. Kubbet, dome.

Bahr, sea. Kul'ah, castle.

Beit, house. Kuryet, village.

Benat, daughters. Merj, meadow.

Beni, sons. Nahr, river.

Bir, well. Nzby, prophet.

Deir, convent. Ras, head.

Ghor, a long valley. Tell, mound or hill.

Hummam, bath. Tur, mountain.

J. for Jebel, mountain. Um, mother.

Jisr, bridge. Wady, bed of a stream.

Kefr, village. Wely, saint.

The Arabic definite article, el, often changes its final consonant according to the word to which it is attached, as ed-Deir, the castle ; er-Ram, Ramah ; esh-Sheikh, the old man.

DICTIONARY

OF

THE HOLY BIBLE

A. j the first letter in almost all alphabets. In Hebrew, it is called aleph; in Greek, alpha, the last letter in the Greek alphabet being omega. Both the Hebrews and Greeks used their letters as numerals ; and hence A {aleph or alpha) denoted one, or the first. So our Lord says, " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last;" thus declaring his eternity, and that he is the cause and end of all things, and that what he has been and has done is a surety of what he ever will be and -do, Rev. 1:8, n ; 21:6; 22:13. Compare Isa. 44:6; 48:12; Col. 1:15-18.

AAR'ON, {ar'on), a teacher, or lofty, the :son of Amram and Jochebed, both of the tribe of Levi, and brother of Moses and Miriam, Exod. 6:20; born about the year A. M. 2430; B. C. 1574. He was younger than Miriam and 3 years older than Moses, Exod. 7:7; and was the spokesman and assistant of the latter in bringing Israel •out of Egypt, Exod. 4:16, 30; 7:19. His wife was Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab ; and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. He was 83 years old when God summoned him to join Moses in the desert near Horeb. Cooperating with his brother in the exodus from Egypt, Exod. 4-16, he held up one of his hands in the battle with Amalek, Exod. 17:9; and approached Mount Sinai with him to see the glory of God, Exod. 24:1, 2, 9-1 1, though Moses alone ascended to the summit.

Aaron's chief distinction consisted in the choice of him and his male posterity for the priesthood. He was consecrated the first high-priest by God's directions, Exod. 28, 29 ; Lev. 8 ; Psa. 106 : 16 ; and was afterwards confirmed in his office by the destruction of Korah and his company, by the staying of the plague at his intercession, and by the budding of his rod, Num. 16, 17. He was faithful and self-sacrificing in the duties of his office, and meekly " held his peace " when his sons Nadab and Abihu were slain, Lev. 10:1-3. Yet ne f eu< sometimes into grievous sins : he made the golden calf at Sinai, as an image of Jehovah for the people to worship, Exod. 32 ; he joined Miriam in sedition against Moses, they presuming, the one as high-priest and the other as a prophetess, to claim like authority to his, Num. 12; and with Moses disobeyed God at Kadesh, Num. 20:8-12. God, therefore, did not permit him to enter the promised land ; but he died on Mount Hor, in Edom, near Mosera, Deut. 10:6, in the 40th year after leaving Egypt, at the age of about 123 years, and was buried by Moses and Eleazar, the latter succeeding him as high-priest, Num. 20:22-29; 33 '■ 39- The Arabs pretend to show his tomb on the mount still bearing his name, and highly venerate it. In his office as high-priest, Aaron was an eminent type of Christ : being "called of God," and anointed; offering sacrifices; bearing the names of the

A

BIBLE DICTIONARY.

ABA tribes on his breast ; communicating God's will by Urim and Thummim ; entering the Most Holy place on the Day of Atonement, "not without blood;" and interceding for and blessing the people of God, Heb. 6 : 20. See Abiathar, Eleazar, Hor, Priest.

AAR'ONITES, descendants of Aaron the high-priest, so called, 1 Chr. 12:27; 27:17. 13 cities were assigned to them, in Judah and Benjamin, Josh. 21:13-19; 1 Chr. 6: 57-60.

AB, father, found in many compound Hebrew proper names : as Abner, father, or possessor, of light; Absalom, father of peace.

AB. The 5th month of the sacred, and the nth of the civil, year among the Jews. It began, according to the latest authorities, with the new moon of late July or early August. It was a sad month in the Jewish calendar. . On its 1st day a fast was observed for the death of Aaron, Num. 33 : 38 ; and on its 9th another was held in memory of the divine edicts which excluded so many that came out of Egypt from entering the promised land ; and also of the overthrow of the 1st and 2d temple. See Month.

ABAD'DON, or Apol'lyon. The former name is Hebrew and the latter Greek, and both signify the destroyer, Job 31:12; Rev. 9:11. He is called the "angel of the abyss," that is, the angel of death, or the destroying angel, Psa. 78 : 49. Abaddon frequently occurs in the Hebrew, and is translated " destruction," meaning often the world of the dead, Job 26 : 6 ; 28 : 22 ; Psa. 88:11; Prov. 15:11.

ABAG'THA, fortune-giver, a court-officer of Ahasuerus, Esth. 1 : 10.

RIVER ABANA, NOW BARADA, AND DAMASCUS.

ABA'NA, perennial, and Phar'par, swift, rivers of Damascus, 2 Kings 5:12. The Abana (or, as in the margin, Amana) was undoubtedly the present Barada, the Chrysorrhoas of the Greeks. It is a clear, cold, and swift mountain stream, rising in Anti- Lebanon, northeast of Hermon, flowing southeast into the plain 23 miles, bursting through a gorge 2 miles northwest of Damascus, turning eastward, skirting the northern wall of the city, and terminating 20 miles east in 2 of 3 large lakes. It is a perennial river, and so copious, that though no less than 9 or 10 branches or canals are drawn off from it to irrigate the plain and 6 supply the city and the numerous villages around it, the stream is a large one to the end.

The only other independent river of any size in the territory of Damascus is the Awaj, which rises on the southeast slopes of Hermon, crosses the plain 8 miles or more south of Damascus, and enters the southernmost of the 3 lakes above referred to. This is supposed to be the Pharpar of the Bible. As these rivers of Damascus were never dry, but made the region they watered like the garden of Eden for fertility and beauty, Naaman might well contrast them with the Jordan whose waters

ABA

BIBLE DICTIONARY.

ABE are often turbid, and with most of "the waters of Israel," which dry up under the summer sun. See Amana.

ABA'RIM, mountains beyond, or of the fords, east of the Dead Sea and the Lower Jordan, " over against Jericho," within the territory of Moab and the tribe of Reuben. It is impossible to define exactly their extent. The mountains Nebo, Pisgah, and Peor were in the Abarim, Num. 27:12; S3 : 47, 48 ; Deut. 32 : 49 ; 34: 1. Ije-abarim, Num. 21:11; 33:44, seems to denote the southern part of the same chain. It is probably referred to in Jer. 22 : 20, where it is rendered " passages." A Hebrew word, apparently of the same derivation, designates the whole country beyond the Jordan.

AB'BA, a Syriac word signifying/a//z<?r, easily pronounced by infant children, and expressing the peculiar tenderness, familiarity, and confidence of the love between parent and child, Mark 14 : 36 ; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6. Luther translated Abba, Pater, "Abba, dear Father." In the Old Testament God sought for the filial love and trust of his people, Jer. 3:4; but it is through Christ alone that we receive the true spirit of adoption, and learn to call God " Our Father," Luke 11:2; John 17 : 1, 21 ; 20 : 17.

ABED'NEGO, servant of Nego ; a Chaldee name given to Azariah, one of the three captive young princes of Judah, B. C. 604, who were Daniel's companions at the court of the king of Babylon, Dan. 1 : 7. Their virtue, wisdom, and piety secured their promotion at court, Dan. 1 : 3-19 ; 2 : 17, 49 ; and their steadfastness in witnessing for God among idolators, with their deliverance from the fiery furnace by the Angel- Jehovah, led many to acknowledge the true God, and rendered these pious youth for ever illustrious as monuments of the excellence and safety of faith in Him, Dan. 3 ; Heb. 11:34. See Daniel, Furnace.

A'BEL, in Hebrew Hebel, vapor; the 2d son of Adam and Eve. His name was a recognition at the outset of the shortness of human life, Jas. 4 : 14. He became a shepherd, and offered to God a sacrifice from his flocks, at the same time that Cain his brother offered of the fruits of the earth. God received Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's; hence Cain in anger killed Abel, Gen. 4, who was the first martyr, Matt. 2 3 : 35- See Sacrifice. It was " by faith " that Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain ; that is, his heart was right towards God, and he worshipped Him in trustful obedience to the divine directions. His offering, made by the shedding of blood, was that of a penitent sinner confiding in the atonement ordained of God; and it was accepted, " God testifying of his gifts," probably by fire from heaven; "by which he obtained witness that he was righteous," that is, justified, Heb. 11:4. His life was short, but not therefore fruitless : for his bright and early example of faith in a divine atonement for sinners has been a beacon-light for all ages since, guiding men to Christ. The first of the human race to die, he was also the first to enter heaven, and a pledge and firstfruits of a harvest none can number. "The blood of Abel" called from the ground for vengeance, Gen. 4 : 10 ; but the blood of Christ claims forgiveness and salvation for his people, Heb. 12 : 24 ; 1 John 1 : 7. See Sin.

Abel is also a prefix in the names of several towns. In such cases it signifies a grassy place or meadow.

ABEL-BETH-MA'ACHAH, meadow of the house of Maachah; a town in the tribe of Naphtali, north of Lake Merom, now probably Abil-el-Karub, in the upper region of the Jordan, in the latitude of Tyre. It was a place of some value, and was besieged in the rebellion of Sheba, 2 Sam. 20:13-22. 80 years afterwards it was taken by Ben-hadad, 1 Kin. 15 : 20, and again, after 200 years, by Tiglath-pileser, 2 Kin. 15:29. It is called Abel-maim in 2 Chr. 16 : 4. Compare 1 Kin. 15 : 20. Also simply Abel, 2 Sam. 20:18.

ABEL-CARMA'IM, or Kera'mim, meadow of vineyards ; a village of the Ammonites, 6 miles from Rabbath-Ammon ; in the history of Jephthah it is called "the plain of the vineyards," Judg. 11 : 33.

ABEL-MEHO'LAH, meadow of the da?ice, or Abel-mea, a town of Issachar, near the Jordan, 10 miles south of Beth-shean. Near this place Gideon defeated the Midianites, Judg. 7:22; and here Elisha was born, 1 Kin. 19: 16.

ABEL-MIZ'RAM, meadow (or, otherwise pointed, mourning) of the Egyptians ; so called from the 7 days' lamentation of Joseph and his company on bringing up the body of Jacob from Egypt for burial, Gen. 50:10, 11. It lay in the plain of Jericho, between that city and the Jordan. Jerome locates it at Beth-hoglah.

ABEL-SHIT'TIM, plain of the acacias, in the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan, and near Mount Peor. It was one of the last encampments of Israel before the death of

ABI

BIBLE DICTIONARY.

ABI

Moses, Num. 33:49; called also Shittim, Josh. 2 : 1. Here the Israelites were enticed by the women of Moab and Midian into uncleanness and the idolatry of Baal-peor, and 24,000 died of the plague, Num. 25.

ABI'A. See Abijah.

ABI'AH, the Lord is viy father, 2d son of Samuel, who appointed his brother and him judges in Israel. Their corruption and injustice were the pretext upon which the people demanded a king, 1 Sam. 8 : 1-5.

ABI'ATHAR, father of abundance, son of Ahimelech, and 4th high-priest of the Jews after Eli. When Saul sent his emissaries to Nob, Psa. 52, to destroy all the priests there, Abiathar, who was young, fled to David in the wilderness, 1 Sam. 22:11-23, with whom he continued in the character of priest, 1 Sam. 23 : 9 ; 30 : 7. Being confirmed in the high-priesthood on David's accession to the throne, he aided in bringing up the ark to Jerusalem, 1 Chr. 15: 11, 12, and adhered to David during the rebellion of Absalom, 2 Sam. 15:35; 1 Chr. 27:34; but afterwards was led to follow Adonijah,thus strangely betraying his royal friend in his old age. Solomon succeeding to the throne, degraded him from the priesthood, and sent him to Anathoth, 1 Kin. 2 : 26, 27 ; thus fulfilling the prediction made to Eli 150 years before, 1 Sam. 2:27-36; 3 : 11-14. Saul, it would appear, had transferred the dignity of the high-priesthood from the line of Ithamar, to which Eli belonged, to that of Eleazar, by conferring the office upon Zadok. Thus there were, at the same time, 2 high-priests in Israel — Abiathar with David, and Zadok with Saul. This double high -priesthood continued from the death of Ahimelech till the reign of Solomon, after which the office was held by Zadok and his race alone. See Eleazar.

A difficulty arises from the circumstance that, in 1 Kin. 2 : 27, Abiathar is said to be deprived of the priest's office by Solomon, while in 2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Chr. 18:16; 24:3, 6, 31, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar is said to be high-priest along with Zadok. The most probable solution is, that both father and son each bore the 2 names Ahimelech and Abiathar, as was not at all unusual among the Jews. See under Abigail. In this way also we may remove the difficulty arising from Mark 2 : 26, where Abiathar is said to have given David the showbread, in allusion to 1 Sam. 21 :i-6, where it is Ahimelech.

A'BIB, the 1 st month of the ecclesiasti- 8 cal year of the Hebrews; afterwards called Nisan. It answered nearly to our April. Abib signifies green ears of grain, or fresh fruits. It was so named, because grain, particularly barley, was in ear at that time. The firstfruits of barley were to be offered on the 15th of Abib ; and the barley harvest now occurs in the latter part of April. See Month. On the 10th of this month the passover was set apart; it was killed on the 14th towards sunset, and eaten the same evening after the 15th had begun. The 7 days from the 15th to the 21st inclusive were " the feast of unleavened bread," closing with a solemn convocation, Exod. 12, 13.

AB'IEL, father of strength, I. the father of Kish and Ner, and grandfather of Saul and Abner, 1 Sam. 9:1; 14 : 51.

II. One of David's 30 mighty men, 1 Chr. 11 :32; Abi-albon, 2 Sam. 23:31.

ABIE'ZER, father of help, great-grandson of Manasseh, Num. 26 : 29, 30 : 1 Chr. 7 : 14-18 ; and founder of the family to which Gideon belonged, Josh. 17:2; Judg. 6:34; 8:2. In this last verse, "the vintage of Abiezer " means the 1st rout of the Midianites by the 300, mostly Abiezrites ; and "the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim " means the capture of Oreb and Zeeb, and other fruits of the victory, gathered by the Ephraimites.

AB'IG AIL, father of joy, I., formerly the wife of Nabal of Carmei, and afterwards of David. The issue of this marriage was, as some critics suppose, two sons, Chileab and Daniel, 2 Sam. 3:351 Chr. 3:1; but probably these names were borne by one person.

II. A sister of David, and mother of Amasa, 2 Sam. 17 : 25 ; 1 Chr. 2 : 16, 17.

AB'IHAIL, father of might, the wife of Rehoboam, king of Judah, 2 Chr. 11:18; the " daughter" — that is here, the descendant — of Eliab, David's brother.

ABI'HU, he (God) is my father, the 2d son of Aaron and Elisheba, Exod. 6 : 23 ; Num. 3:2; honored with his brother Nadab, Ex. 24:1; consecrated to the priesthood with his 3 brethren, Exod. 28 : 41 ; but shortly after killed by lightning from the Lord, with Nadab, for burning incense with common fire instead of the holy fire that was kept burning perpetually on the altar of burnt-offerings, Lev. 6:9,12; 10: 1, 2; 16:12; Num. 16:46. As this is immediately followed by the prohibition of wine to the priests when ministering in the tabernacle, it is not improbable that Nadab

ABI

BIBLE DICTIONARY.

ABI and Abihu were intoxicated when thus transgressing. Their death is a solemn warning not to presume to worship God except with incense kindled at the one altar which Christ hath sanctified and made acceptable with his blood, Heb. 10:10-14. It is a dangerous thing, in the service of God, to decline from his own institutions. We have to do with a God who is wise to prescribe his own worship, just to require what he has prescribed, and powerful to punish what he has not prescribed, Col. 2 : 20-23.

ABI'JAH, the Lord is my father, I., called, in Luke 1:5, Abia; founder of a family among the posterity of Aaron and Eleazar. When David divided the priests into 24 courses, to perform the temple service in turn, the 8th class was called after him, 1 Chr. 24 : 10. To this class Zacharias belonged.

II. Son of Jeroboam the 1st king of Israel. He died young, and much beloved and lamented, 1 Kin. 14:1-18.

III. Son of Rehoboam the 1st king of Judah, Mat. 1:7; called, in 1 Kin. 15:1, Abijam. He came to the throne B. C. 958, in the 18th year of Jeroboam I., and reigned only 3 years. In war with Jeroboam he gained a signal victory, 2 Chr. 13 ; yet he followed the evil example of his father, 1 Kin. 14:23, 24. There is some reason for believing that the numbers in 2 Chr. 13:3, 17 should be, as Josephus and some editions of the Vulgate have them — 40,000, 80,000, and 50,000. His mother Maachah, or Michaiah, was probably the granddaughter of Absalom and daughter of Uriel, 1 Kin. 15:2; 2 Chr. 1 1 : 20 ; 13:2.

IV. The mother of king Hezekiah, 2 Chr. 29 : 1 ; called Abi in 2 Kin. 18 : 2.

ABILE'NE, a district on the eastern declivity of Anti-Lebanon, from 12 to 20 miles northwest of Damascus ; so called from the <:ity Abila, in a gorge, on the river Abana or Barada, and also called Abilene of Lysanias, to distinguish it from others. In the 15th year of Tiberius, Abilene was a tetrarchate under Lysanias, Luke 3:1.

ABIM'ELECH, father-king, I., king of Gerar of the Philistines, who took Sarah into his harem, compare Gen. 12 : 15 ; Esth. 2:3; but being restrained by God in a dream, he restored her to Abraham, and gave him 1,000 pieces of silver as a "covering of the eyes " for Sarah, that is, as an atoning present, and to be a testimony of her innocence in the eyes of all ; or as some think, for a veil to hide her beauty, and

"thus was she reproved" for not wearing one. He afterwards made a league with Abraham, Gen. 20, 21.

II. Another king of Gerar, probably son of the former, and contemporary with Isaac. He rebuked Isaac for dissimulation in regard to Rebekah, and afterwards made a new league with him at Beersheba, Gen. 26.

III. A son of Gideon by a concubinewife, Judg. 8:31, made himself king of Shechem after his father's death, and slew his father's 70 sons, only Jotham the youngest being left, B. C. 1235. Jotham reproached the Shechemites in his celebrated fable of the trees. Three years afterwards they rose against Abimelech ; he defeated them, but perished ignominiously in attacking Thebez, Judg. 9; 2 Sam. 11 : 21.

ABIN'ADAB, father of nobleness, the same as Aminadab, b and m being often interchanged in Hebrew. I. A Levite of Kirjath-jearim, in whose house the ark of God, when restored by the Philistines, remained 70 years, 1 Sam. 7 : 1 ; 1 Chr. 13 : 7.

II. The 2d son of Jesse, one of the 3 who followed Saul in the war with the Philistines, 1 Sam. 16:8; 17 : 13.

III. A son of Saul, slain in the battle at Gilboa, 1 Sam. 31:2; 1 Chr. 8 : 33 ; 10 : 2.

ABI'RAM, a high father, I., a prince of Reuben, who with Korah, Dathan, etc., conspired to overthrow the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, Num. 16. See Korah.

II. 1 Kin. 16:34, a son of Hiel, who perished early because of his father's presumption in rebuilding Jericho. See Hiel.

AB'ISHAG, father of error, a beautiful virgin of Shunem, in Issachar, chosen to be a member of the household of David in his old age and cherish him. After his death, Adonijah sought her hand to promote his treasonable aspirations, and was punished by death, 1 Kin. 1, 2.

ABISH'AI, father of a gift, eldest son of Zeruiah, David's sister, brother of Joab and Asahel, one of the bravest of David's chivalric order of "mighty men," 1 Chr. 2 : 16, always faithful to his royal uncle, and usually a personal attendant. He went with him alone to the tent of Saul, 1 Sam. 26: 5-12 ; and was a leader in the war with Ishbosheth, 2 Sam. 2 : 18, 24, in the war with the Edomites, 1 Chr. 18 : 12, 13, and with the Syrians and Ammonites, 2 Sam. 10 : 10, 14. In a battle with the Philistines, he rescued David, and slew Ishbi-benob the giant, 2 Sam. 21 : 16, 17. He broke through their

ABI

BIBLE DICTIONARY.

ABR host around Bethlehem, and lifted up his spear against 300, and slew them, 2 Sam.

23 : 14-18 ; and was with David in the affairs of Shimei, Absalom, and Sheba' 2 Sam. 16:9; 18:2; 19:21; 20:6,7.

ABISH'U Afalher of welfare, son of Phinehas, and 4th high-priest, 1 Chr. 6:4, 5, 50. He was probably a contemporary of Eglon and Ehud, Judg. 3.

AB'NER, father of light, the son of Ner ; Saul's cousin, and the general of his armies, 1 Sam. 14 : 50. He knew David, and aided Saul in persecuting him, 1 Sam. 17:57; 26 : 3-14. • For 7 years after Saul's death he supported Ishbosheth ; but being reproved by him for his conduct towards Rizpah, he undertook to unite the whole kingdom under David. He was, however, treacherously slain by Joab, either to revenge the death of Asahel, Joab's brother, whom Abner had formerly killed, or more probably from jealousy. David abhorred this perfidious act, and composed an elegy on his death, 2 Sam. 2:8; 3 : 33. He also charged Solomon to punish the crime of Joab with death, 1 Kin. 2 : 5, 6. See Joab.

ABOMINA'TION, a term applied in Scripture to objects of great detestation. Idols and their worship were so named, because they robbed God of his honor, while the rites themselves were impure and cruel, Deut. 7 : 25, 26 ; 12:31. The term was used respecting the Hebrews in Egypt, Gen. 43 : 32, Exod. 8 : 26, either because they ate and sacrificed animals held sacred by the Egyptians, or because they did not observe those ceremonies in eating which made a part of the religion of Egypt ; and in Gen. 46 : 34, because they were " wandering shepherds," a race of whom had for a time grievously oppressed Egypt.

The Abomination of Desolation foretold by Daniel, 9:27; 11:31; 12:11, denotes, probably, the image of Jupiter, erected in the temple of Jerusalem by command of Antiochus Epiphanes, 170 B. C, 2 Mac. 6 : 2 ; 1 Mac. 6 : 7. But by the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by our Lord, Matt.

24 : 15 ; Mark 13 : 14, and foretold as about to be seen at Jerusalem during the last siege of that city by the Romans under Titus, is commonly understood the Roman army, whose standards had the images of their gods and emperors upon them, and were worshipped in the precincts of the temple when that and the city were taken. Perhaps, however, it refers to some iniquity of the Jewish zealots near the beginning of the siege, Luke 21 : 20. See Armor. The initials SPQR are for Senatus Populusque Romanus, the Senate and the People of Rome.

A'BRAM, high father, afterwards named A'BRAHAM, father of a multitude, Gen. 17:4, 5; see Names; the great founder of the Jewish nation, as well as of the Ishmaelites and other Arabian tribes, Gen. 25. He was a son of Terah, a descendant of Shem, and brother of Nahor and Haran, and wr.s born in Ur, a city of Chaldea, A. M. 2008, B. C. 1996, Gen. 11 :27, 28. Here he lived 70 years, when at the call of God he left his idolatrous kindred, Josh. 24 : 2, 14, and removed to Haran, in Mesopotamia, Acts 7 : 2-4, accompanied by his father, his wife Sarai, his brother Nahor, and his nephew Lot. A few years after, having buried his father, he again removed at the call of God, with his wife and nephew, and entered the land of promise as a nomade or wandering shepherd, Heb. 11:8. Sojourning for a time at Shechem, he built here, as was his custom, an altar to the Lord, who appeared to him, and promised that land to his seed. Removing from place to place for convenience of water and pasturage, he was at length driven by a famine into Egypt, where he dissembled in calling his wife his sister, Gen. 12. Returning to Canaan rich in flocks and herds, he generously left Lot to dwell in the fertile valley of the Lower Jordan, and pitched his own tents in Mamre, Gen. 13. A few years after, he rescued Lot and his friends from captivity, and received the blessing of Melchizedek, Gen. 14.